Post- Graduate Certificate

in the Teaching of English

PHONETICS AND
SPOKEN ENGLISH · ·
BLOCK.

II
-,;;;i ..

Unit-1
INTONATION
Contents
1.0 lntrod uction 2
1.1 Pitch 2
1.1.1 Tune/tone shapes 2

1.1.2 The falling tune 3

1.1.3 The rising tune 4.
.,.
1.1.4 The falling-rising tune 5
1.2 Summary 7
1.3 Sources and recommended reading 8

1 ,

"i" /
.\ '
....
Unit 1 ppallingly
She was in an a h.-d
INTONATION
C
1.0 Introduction
m
Obji:ctivc:
p
to enable participants to familiarize themselves with the use of the tunes/
-e-
tones.
In Block I Unit 2 we have referred to the vibrating glottis which provides, r.
in sounds, the voiced-voiceless distinction. However, it has another important So the most important word in this group is temper and this decides the
role to play in continuous speech, i.e., it provides pitch fluctuation. By pitch shape of the .tune.
fluctuation we mean that the pitch of the voice is continually in the process of
Before we talk about the speakers' altitude(s) let's see what' iunes you must
either falling or rising while we are talking. In fact, ii never remains cor,stant
for mor~ than a fraction of a second. Pitch fluctuation is found in the speech of learn to use while speaking English. We ~nnot teach you all _!h!:.....!!ines that
English speakers use, but ~e will describe the ones that we feel you must know.
all communities. It is not a random fluctuation but follows well-defined melodic
patterns, which~ ~gfuL 1.1.2 The falling tune
The /"lii~g tune is sometimes referred to as the glicu-dow,n. It consists of a
1.1 Pilch
fall in the pitch of the voice from a high level to a low level. It is marked [ ' ).
The pitch of the voice is determined by the frequency of the vibration of the
vocal cords, i.e., the number of times· they open and close in ·a: second. The The falling tune is normally used in:
patterns of variation of the pitch of the voice (i.e., the fall or the rise) constitute 1. Or/inary_statements made without any implications, e.g.:
the intonation of a language. If you say Put it down! the pitch of your voice will
move from a high level to a low level. This is called the falling tone. It can be a. I 'liked it 'very 'much
illustrated thus: b. . It was 'quite 'good.
Put it 2. Questions beginning with a question-word such as what, how, where,
why, etc., when s~id in a neutral way, e.g.:
d
a. Who were you ' talking to?
0
b. 'What's the 'inatter?
w
n! 3. Commands, e.g.:
a. 'Go and 'open the 'window.
If you say the same sentence with a rising tone the pitch of your voice will
move from low to high, as shown l!elow: b. 'fake ii a 'way.
n! 4. Exclamations, e.g.:
w a. 'Splendid!
0
b. 'How extra 'ordinary!
d 5. Question tag.: .when the speaker expects the listener to agree with him,
e.g.:
Put it
a. It's 'pleasant today; 'isn't it?
1.1.1 Tune/tone shapes b. It was a 'good'film, 'wasn't it?
The shape of a tune (tone) is decided by the number of important words in 6. Rhetorical questions, e.g.:
a word group and by the attitude you wish to express. By important words we
a. 'Isn't that 'kind of her?
mean 'the words which carry most of the meaning in a group.' For example, in
answer to the question "How was Shiela?" you say "She was in an appallingly b. 'Wasn't that a 'difficult exam?
bad lttnptt'' ..: the first four words are not specially helpful to the meaning, i.e., (Note: I ' I before a syllabic indicates that the following syllable is stressed.
they are not important But the last three words are important: each of them adds For more details see Units 4 and_ 5 in this block).
to the picture you are giving of Shiela. Let's see how it might be said:
3
 7. Expected responses; e.g.:
Activity A Try and say the following utterances using a falling tone.
Jnank you.
Sit down.
(If you wish to express real gratitude, you should say thank you with a falling
Thanks. tune. A rising tune shows a rather casual acknowledgement of something not
lt's a lovely day. very important.)
Tell him a story. 8. Alternative questions, e.g.:
What a pretty dress! a. Do you like .,tea,/offcc or 'coke?,
Where arc you going? b. 'Shall we 1drive or go by 'train?
It's impossible. 9. Enumeration, e.g.:
Do it now. .,Onc,.,two,.,thrcc,.,four, 'five.
What's the time? 10. Afterthought, doubt, hesitation, e.g.:
It's ten. a. I'd 'buy a 'new one, if I could af)ord it.
She is very pretty. b. In 1spring it 'rains a 'lot, ~cncrally.
11. Greetings, partings, apologies, encouragement, e.g.:
a. Hcl.,lo.
1.1.J The rising tune b. 'Good1 bye.
The rising tirnt is sometimes rclened to as the glide-up. It consists of a rise
C. I'm so JOrry.
in the pitch of the voice from a low level to a high level. 1t is marked i,, ]. d. You ought to keep on trying.
I
The rising tune is normally used in:
1. Incomplete statements, e.g.:
Activity B Try and say the following utterances using a rising tone.
a. It's 'seven o;:-Iock (~and she hasn't got up as yet.)
Arc you coming?
b. I'll 'buy you a 1 drcss (if I go there.) 1
When I went to see her, (she was asleep).
2. Polarity type questions which demand a yes/no answer, e.g.: 1
What's your t ame?
a. 'Are they / coming?
b. 'Will you .,do it?
(You're leaving tomorrow), arcn'/ ou? "•\ '{"'
L~avc it on the; able.
3. Non•polarity (wh•type) questions when said in a warm/friendly way,
Can you come tomorrow?
e.g.: (_f"l.l.u (,•i,h, _...., _,, .,.. "'I( ' 'l"'lk,
When can wc, mcct?
a. 'How's your .,daughter? -~ ·f1-..i....-.. t>oul~" t.~
b.
1
What's the matter? Good morning.
I 1
4. Polite requests, e.g.: (lt rains in the evening}, usually.
a. 'Go and 'open the., window, (Phone's ringing). ' Go and answer it.
I
b. 'Take it a .,way.
5. Question tags: when the speaker gives his/her listener the option to 1.1.4 The falling-rising tune i ./.JMJ,-..,I "''ft-' ;-vu,ri /. t.>' c.,,,..td h<- WILi,.., J
disagree with him/her, e.g.:
The last of the tunes that you must learn is the falling-rising tune. This tune
a. You're a 'gardener,., aren't you? is sometimes referred to as the diPt. It consists of a fall from high to low and then
1
b. It was a goodfilm, ;vasn't it? a rise to the middle of the voice. This tune can be used either on one syllable or
different syllables of a word or sentence. lt can be illustrated ·thus:
6. Repetition questions, e.g.:
a. Oohn told me to do it.)
.Who told you?
--.
 c.
1. That was n
y of them. Read the following utterrances and indicate in the space provic;lcd what tone
Activity C
(Le., falling, rising, falling-rising) you will use while saying them.
n 1. How nke to see you.
2.. Good afternoon.
2.. There were
3. When will you be able to come home?
V
(friendly)
3. T e.
4. Are you coming?
h
5. It was a lovely movie, wasn't it?
6. Do join us for dinner.
n
7. Sit down.
was
8. She is always well-dressed.
If the fall is on one syllabic and the rise begins on a later syllable it is referred
to as a divided fall-rise. Sentence 3 is an example of this. (but. ......... )
The fall-rise can be marked in hvo ways. If the tune is used on one syllable 9. You can write to me.
it is marked l v I (but you can't phone me)
e.g., v seve11ty. 10. Your lather is a teacher, isn't he?
If the tune is used on different syllables of a word it Is marked l' ..
1
J O am not sure, so do tell me)
e.g.,' Stt1'9fy- 11. You see me alter ten.
If the fall-rise is used on two different words in a sentence it is marked as 12. It was an interesting movie.
in the following example: •
13. I can come tomorrow, i! my boss is away.
'That was, nice.
14. It's very warm today.
The falling-rising tune is normally used for special implications not verbally
expressed. For example if you say 15. If it rains tomorrow, we won't go ·out
She's 'beautiful for dinner.
with a falling tune you mean precisely that. But if you say the same sentence with 16. You've done well
a falling-rising tune (But you could do better)
She's vbe.autiful 17. What can I do for you?
you imply something - perhaps that sh, is b•~utiful, but not intelligent.
Consider the following examples in which the falling-rising tune is used to Now you can go through !({e imit or,ce again and cl.eek your answers against
convey special implications, e.g.:
the notes provided. Most of these utterances will fit into one or other category
a. I am vwaiting (so do hurry up). discussed. However, if you hear such utterances said with another tone than you
think it should be, don't be surprised. What we have said in this unit about the
b. I haven't 'much vappetite (but I'll join you to be polite). use of tunes applies generally in normal situations.
c. The 'houses are vnice (but perhaps the people are not).
This tune can also be used for correcting what someone has said and as a
warrung, e.g.: 1.2 Summary
a. (He's forty-five.) Forty-v six. The tunes that we have described are called kinetic tunes, i.e., there is a pitch
change on a particular syllable. 11 a syllable is said on a level pitch it is said to
b. (I like him a lot.) You 'used to like him.
, have a sftdic tone.
c. 'Please be Vcarcful.
d. You'll be "late.
e. vThank you (used mainly to express one's displeasure).
l____
6
~ - S<.»->v-1,._~
,"w,"""'vW•'¼ ~I-kt~,,., '1)
(,,,J,. I- 'A
1.3 Sources and recommended reading
Unit 2
Abercrombie, D. (1967): Elem,uts of Gen,ral Phonetics, Edinburgh. Edinburgh
University Press, Chapter 6. TONE GROUP AND TONIC
Gimson, A.C. (1989): An Introduction to U,e Pronuncintiim of Englisl,, 4th revised
edition, London: Edward Arnold, Chapter 10.
2.0 lntroductioi\ JO
O'Connor, J.D. (1970): Bella English Pronuncintion. Lon~on: ELBS, Chapter 7.
2.1 Tone grou~ JO
2:2 The nucleus, 11
2.3 Summary
-
12
2.4 Sources and recommended reading 12
8
 ·1~ : .s.::__.,
· Unit 2 Q /. • TTM-< </L""/>! , ov0c 1y\t..,,lu. - s ll<Jl.t o-y, c,J1-,{ u, j-,rfcl, ,..._.,.,.
j"(UNd µ, v,,, , ./;' ,,J.!e_J c · j + .4N\.M w 1-- , P ~ s 1/faJ,
TONE GROUP AND TONIC
3. / / I think Mr Gupta is at home; / his car is in the porch.//
2.0 Introduction 2.2 The nucleus
~: We have been talking about tone groups. But remember that every tone
to enable participants to familiarize themselves with other features of 6!£:!P must have a ~ s , i.e., the syllable on which a pitch movement is
connected speech. ~ -It is .also called the tonic syllable .. For example, in the sentence
Your ability to speak well in English depends, to a large extent, on your I /I'm 1eaving for Bom'bay to'morrow 'morning.//
using an appropriate tune/tone. But this is not the only feature of connected the first syllable of the word morni11g is the nucleus.
speech which enables you to speak well. In this unit we will, therefore, discuss
two other equally important features of connected speech: Generally the last stressed syllable in a tone group is the nucleus. But any
word in a tone group can be the nucleus depending on the meaning the speaker
a. . the division of an utterance into tone groups, and wishes to convey. Consider the following examples ~th their meanings given
within 'brackets.
b. the location of the nucleus.
1. I /I'm 'leaving for Bom'bay to 'morrow ,morning.// \i.~., not today)
-se'" 2.1 Tone groups
Z. / /I'm 1eaving for Born 'bay to,morrow 1moming./ / (i.e., not for any
When we talk we do not talk in single words but in grjU!PS of words. These other city)
groups may be said wi~ause or without a pa~~~- lf~E._short~(l~of
3. / /I'm 'leaving for Bom,bay to,morrow ,morning.// (i.e., not staying)
i n t ~ ~ g ! h we_need not p~usc. For example:
I. Yes.
Please note that I , J denotes a stressed syllabic after the tonic. It is called
post-tonic stress.
2. No.
In the preceding paragraph we havefalked about ·the last stressed syllable
3.. Thank you. in a tone group'. In later units (4 and 5) we will be talking about stress in
sentences and in words. ··
4. How do y~u like it?
5. I'm leaving tomorrow morning.
These utterances \.'lill normally be said as o n e ~
Activity A. Divide the following passage into tone groups marking ~ach toyc group
boundary with a single bar (/) and sentence boundary with a double bar
If a group is loni, we need to paiisc, to take breath. That is ,•.,.hy these tone (//)
~- groups are .sometimes referred to as brearh groups. For example:
B. Locate the nucleus in each tone group and mark the appropriate tone
1. / /When I went to see her, / she was surprised.// (i.e. fall, rise or fall-rise) on it.
2. / /In Bombay, / I stayed in a hotel. / / "What's the matter? Aren't you feeling so good?"
3. / I Fortunately, / the weather was fine. / / "No, not\e;lly,'t mu: t admit. Bit of~ headache, you"inow."
4: / /Last Monday/ I wanted to go to office early, / so I caught a train / "Oh, fhen you did go to the pub, like that little man'said - what was his
about an hour before my usual one / and arrived there before everyone ~mer
else./ I - , .
"John," Dixon said, trying to sugg~lby his articulatton of t_h\,_ namthc
From the above examples you can see that a tone group boundary is marked correct opinioiy'of its bearer{/ "Yes, I did go/lo the pub." •
by an-0blique single bar. A sentence boundary is marked by an oblique double
bar. / "You had~ lot,/di'!,you?'ff In her interest shC stopped cating,jbut still
gripped her knife and fork/her lists resting on the cloth. He noticed that
You can also see from the above examples that when a group is long, you. her fingers were square-tipped, Jvi.t~
the nails cut quite close.
have to pause at appropriate places, S-O that you do not destroy the sense. That
is why tone groups arc also referred to as sms, groups. "I suppose I must have done/yr"/ he replied .
"How much di5, you have?"
Sometimes p u n ~ can you a cl!:!s, to the di~on of an utterance
into tone groups, though it is not ~ ~ d e . A full stop always "Oh,/1 never'co~nt them."
indicates the end of a ~ gr~; so ~ - colons and semi-colons. For
example: - -- ---. Discussion
1. I II went to see the doctor, / but he wasn't there.// You must have noticed that punctuativn marks, phrase and clause structure
are quite helpful in your ability to mark tone groups. You must also have noticed
2 / /There are two reasons for poverty in India: / corruption and over- that the most important content word in each to.ie group becomes the tonic
population.// "'
syllable. If you have applied the general guidelines given in this unit you would
certainly have been able to mark intonation reasonably well.
10
!VYI.Jy,-- .sJ~,J,, ,1 • w-v.,...,.. o,,M. ft,""
op~ 11
L
2.3 Summary ,, ,_ -~ '\"
In this unit we discus.sed how sentences/utterances are divided into tone Unit 3
groups. In each tone group we have a tonic syllable (nucleus) on which pitch
movement is initiated. The tonic is the-most prominent syllable in the tone group. RHYTHM
2.4 Sources and recommended reading
3.0 Introduction 14
Abercrombie (1967). Chapter 6.
3.1 Content words 14
Gimson (1989). Chapter 10.
3.2 Structure words 14
O'Connor (1970). Chapter 7.
3.3 Stress-timed rhythm 15
3.4 Wealcfooru; 16
3.5 Summary 19
3.6 Sources and recommended reading 19
13
12
iA
 .....-
Unit 3
RHYTHM 1
, The on!y11'1'r,son ,in the lroom, was the Callaghan 'girl, '$itting behind a
lwell-filled lplatc. Dixon said good-rliorning tolher.
3.0 Introduction "Oh, good'.morning!" Her tone was ~eutral, not' hostile. '
1
~ : to familiarise participants with different aspects of rhythm. He quickly decided on a bluff, spcak-my-mind approach as the I best
1
cloak for [rudcness, lpast or to tome. One of his (father's 1friencls, a
As you all know, a sentence is made up of one or more words. All the words
that comprise the sentence arc not equally important for meaning: some arc more
I jeweller, had got away with corl'versing ahnost bntircly in irtsultsforthe
1fifteen years Dixon hadlknown him, merely by using this1simple dcviec.
1
important than others. For example, in the sentence Deliberately intensifying his no/them 1accent, Dixon ~aid: "Afraid I got
Which is the train !or Hyderabad, please? off on the /wrong foot 'with you last hight.''
Which, train, Hyderabad and pleast are more important than is, flit, and for. The llruJwirui
words that are important for meaning will therefore~ stressed. They are marked
You must have noticed that the words you undcr:ined are content words.
thus:
· As we have said in the unit these words are important for conveying the meaning.
'Which is the 'train for 'Hyderabad, 'please?' Once you have decided which words are important for meaning, you can always
find out from a pronouncing dictionary which syllables in these words will be
3.1 Content words stressed.
From the above sentence you can sec that content or ltxical words are Now read the passage ·as you have marked it.
stressed. Examples of such words are:
Nouns
Main Verbs 3.3 Stress-timed rhythm ·
Adjectives
The most important thing that you should remember is that in English speech
Adverbs stressed syllables tend to occur at regular inlcrvals of lime. For example, in
Demonstratives · · · Sentence 3 (in 3.2), the lime intervals between the beginning of the stressed
Interrogative Pronouns.
syllables t09k, dog, walk and park will be approximately the same. In a sentence
like '
3.2 Structure words
It would have been 'better not to have 'taken it 'seriously.
Stru~tural or functi011al words, on the other hand, are generally not stressed,
Examples of such words arc: the time intervals between the beginning·of the stressed syllables bct· (of bi:tlw,
lj- (of lili:n) and (of will be approximately the sa[!1~, even though
Articles there arc more unstressed syllables between the stressed syllables. : When you
Auxiliary Verbs speak, the stressed syllables should be pronounced carefully and the unstressed
Prepositions ones should be crowded together and said quickly. It is this r"j;'!lar occurrence
Conjunctions . of stressed syllables that gives English its characteristic rhytlun. This ~YIM! is
Personal and Relative Pronouns. , i,11,M;flA••' 1 known as striss-timtd rhythm. English, Russian and Arabic are stress-timed
Herc arc some more examples of seniences in which the content or lexical Ianguages., Jn-so~languages the syllabics recur at equal intervals of time . i.e.,
words have been stressed: they are ~JJO_us. ThlS rhythm IS known as • ~ ~ d rhyth_m. French,
-Telugu and Yoruba arc syllabic-timed languages_ In fact, most Indian languages
L 'Peter 'spcndi his 'week-ends at the 'sports 'club. are syllable-timed. As far as is known, every language in the world is spoken
2. Let's have 'bread and 'butter for 'breakfast. with either one kind of rhythm or the other.
3. She 'took the 'dog for • 'walk in the 'park. Rhythm is found not only in prose but also in poetry. Children's nursery
· rhymes and songs arc excellent materials for practising rhythm. Herc is an
You should, however, note that if the word to be stressed has more than one example for you to read aloud:
syllable, generally, only one of the syllables is stressed. For example, the word
As 'I was 'going to St 'Ives,
breakfast in Sentence 2 above, has two syllables, the first of which is stressed. It
is the same syllable that is stressed when the. word is said in isolation. You can I nlct a 'man with seven 'wives,
1
always check this in a dictionary.
'Every 'wile had 1seven 'sacks,
'Every 'sack had 'seven 1cats,
Activity A 'Every 1cat had •seven 'kits,
In the-following passage underline the words which Will be- stressed. Then
in each of these words mark the stressed syllable. (If you are not sure which 'Kits, 'cats, 1sacks and 1wivcs,
syllable in a word of more than one syllable is stressed look it up in a pronouncing
dictionary). 'How many were 'goinf; to St 'Ives?
14
15
 gO'Yt<- 'd-{T
"b
As you read, tapping on a desk or table at each stressed syllabic will help
0 /J!,Vlr
yot! to get at the characteristic English rhythm.
fo,~
is
Ir;. I
~: /z7,/s/ /Ji:z lwrug/
3.4 Weak forms (Sh;,,s coming)
This brings us to another important feature of English rhythm, i.e., the use /Jls rellUg/
of weak forms. As we have already said, content or lexical words tend to be ((t's raining)
shall /Ja,l /
stressed and structural or functional words arc generally not stressed in connected /Joi/, /Jl/ /wot fol a1. du: /
speech. It is these structural or functional words ,vhich have a strong fonn and
(What shall I do?)
a weak form . When these words arc not stressed the weak form is used. For was /wnz I waz/ /ai woz ri:dt1J/
example, the word and is pronounced / a,nd/ in isolation, b~t in connected speech
it is reduced to/ and/,/ on/ or /n/. People often say butter and jam and bread (I was reading)
were /\VJ: /
and buttn as /wo/ /wa ju rl:dtg/
/'b,tar on 'd3a,m/ (Were you reading?)
/'bred n 'bAta/ /oe1 w~ pleug/
(They v•cre playing)
and not with the strong form /a,nd/. The '.:';c,~~eak is_!ln l?§§S!lti~!, part will / wil/ /1 / /aII <.PJI
of English_~pccc~. i\!ld_you must lcanf.l1f iise t~e w_c~k forms of structural wo;:;is (I'll go)
if you want to acquire the rhythm _of English speech. would I wud/ /ad /,Id/ /fi:d bt Oe:,/
The following is a list of some structural words which have weak forms in (She'd be there)
connected speech: must /mASt/ / most /,/mos /
Strong forms weak forms in RP /a, mas gou nau/
/ Cl / M /a ga:l / (a girl) (Imust go now)
an Conjunctions
/a,ri / /on/ /an rep!/ (an apple)
and /a,nd / /and /, /on /
the /Oi-./ / 01 / before a /01 ormd3/
vowel /n/ /fo:Oor on mAOa/
(the orange)
(father and mother)
/Oo/ /Oa pen / as /rez/ /oz/ / trat oz ha:d oz ju: ka,n/
before a (the pen)_
consonant (Try as hard as you can )
than /oa,n / /o,n / /beta 6on ju: /
Auxiljar:y verbs (no weak forms in the final position!
am (Heller than you)
/a,m I /om I · I a,m kAm111/ that /Oa,t/ loot/ . /at sed 6ot a, w:iz bm/
I mI (I'm coining).
are (I said that I was busy)
/a:/ Io I / w,a kAm11J'/ hut / b, t / /bot / /bot a,m b1z1/
(We're coming) " (But I'm busy)
can /ka,n / / k:m / /kan a, gou/
/kn/ (Can I go?) ·· (nQ w~ak for™ in th~ [inal positi2nl
does /d,z/ at Ja,t I /al/ /luk ot Oom/
/doz/ / wot doz i: wnnt/ (Look at them)
(What does he want?)
had for /fa:/ I lo I /01s ,z fo ju: /
/ hil!d/ /had/ /wi:d fm1ft/ (This is for you)
/ad /, /d/ .. (We'd finished)
has / ha,z / from / from / / fr.im / /a1 kAm fr.im deb/
/ haz / /hoz i; ~n/ (I come from Delhi)
/oz/, /z/, /s/ (Has he gone?)
of /ov / /ov / /o kAp ,v ti: /
/fi:z left/ · (A cup of tea)
(She's left)
have / ha,v / to / tu:/ I tu/ / gtv ti tu a: ri:,J
/hav/ / hav Oc1 gon/
/av/, /v/ before a vowel (Give it lo Arthur)
(Have they gone?)
/ t, / before a consonant /g1v 11 ,·b mi-. /
/ a1v f1niJt / (Give it lo me)
(I've finished)
16
17
I
I,
 T
3.5 Summary •
-' In this unit We havesh6wn how rhythm in English depends.-on altemati~n
/wm d:,unt ju !<Am/ of.stressed syllables.. Content words are generally stressed in an utterance w~e
/ju:/ /ju/ /pl
you (Why don't. you come) function Words are not stressed. Function wo{ds generally get weakened m
connected Speech, Le., they ru:e realised in their weak forms.
/m1/ /gtv mt~ buk/
me I mi:/
(Give me a book)
3.6 Sources and recommended reading
he /hi:/ /ht/, /i:/ /t/ _A~~1:\l_bje ~1967). Chapter 6. _
/htz not we!/ II '!,:::: \ "··, 1
(He's not well) Girnson 0989). Chapter 10. ·
/wen tz Jt kAmt!J / O'Connor (19'70). Chapter 6.
she /si:/ /J,/
(When is she coming?)
him / him/ /1m/ /let tm du: tt/
(Let him do it)
her /h3:/ I hJ/, /3:/, /~/
/let du: ti/
(Let her do it)
them /i!!cm/ /6Jm/ /6m/ /~m/ /m/
/a:sk 6~m b li:v/
(Ask them to leave)
Activity B Underline the weak forms in the following passage.
looked !!. liim Y£i!!i !!sJ lips pressed firmly together, then laughed
i._".!.._way quite different ~ ~ w a y ~ laughed previous evening;
in fact, Dixon thought, rather unmusically. A blonde lock came away
troiit the devotedly-brushed hair and she smoothed it back. "Well, what
a~c .YQ.U going abo~~- - -~
'"I~ t_know El.~ do something, though."
"Ycs,J..quitc agree. You'd better start on it quickly, hadn't you before
.J.!!e maid goes round?." --- - ~-
~·- -
"! know. But what can I do?"
"How bad is_it?"
,...-
"Bad enough. There~ great pieces gone altogether, you see."
..__ - - ··- · .. ,
Discussion
What you had to do in this exercise was to underline all the function/
structure words, i.e., articles, prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, etc. These
words are unstressed in connected s~h and that's why they are pronounced
in their weak forms. If you read the passage with stress on the right syllables of
content words, making structure words weak, you will get the characteristic
rhythm of English.
.,
18
19
Unit 4
WORD STRESS Unit 4
WORb STRESS
21
4.0 Introduction 4.0 Introduction
4.1 Stress in English words
21
~ : to enable part' · ,
22 of word str"'•
-· . - . JCipants to familiarize th-·-'ves
""""'-' w,·th cer tau,
· aspects
4.2 Summary
4.3 Sources and recommended reading 22 f ln this unit' you ivill Icamabout word st ress, as 1t. ,1S a very important feature
0 spoken English Word
. s arc made up Of llabl .
one syllable, ·an the syll bl sy . c(s}: if a word has more than
more prominent than th a : arc not equally prominent: one of the syllables is
three syllabics: te e; crs. For example, the word telephone is made up of
I
is more prom1n·cnt,the, an, phon, but only the first syllable le is stressed: i.e. it
an eandpho s· ·1 1 • '
is made up of five s llabl ne. um a_r Y m the word pronunciation, which
mountaineer wh· h ~--·- cs, the syllable a IS the most prominent. ln the word
' IC as three syllabics, the last syllabic nm is stressed.
. You should note that a syllabic is made up of a vowel and optionally
consonant(s). You will learn more about the structure of English syllables in Block
lil Urut I.
4.1 Stress in English words
Stress in English words is fixed, i.e., the stress always falls on a particular
syllabic in a given word. For example, in the word miserable, the stress is on the
first syllable, i.e., mis, whether the word is said in isolation or in connected
speech. But at the same time, stress in English words is free; i.e., it is not lied
to any particular syllable in the chain of syllabics constituti~g ·the word. For
example, English weirds can be stressed on the first syllabic as in miscravle, on
the s«ond syllable as in agree, on the third syllabic as in understand and so on.
in some languages, however, stress is lied to a particular syllabic; for example, it
is always on the first syllable in Czech and on the last syllabic in French.
You ~hould note that it is not only stress that makes syllables prominent:
·pitch change also contributes to the promincn_cc of _syllaMes (sec Unit 1) .. The
syllable on which pitch movement can be 1mhatcd IS said to have the pnmary
stress/accenl The syllable which has primary stress becomes a tonic syllabic when
the pitch movement is initiated on it in a ton~ group. Any other prominent
syllable is said to have llt(ondary accent. Prun~ry .accent ;s marked With a
· vertical bar above and in front of the syllabic to which 1t refers. Secondary accent
is. marked with a vertical bar below and in front of the syllabic. For example, in
the following words
,after'noon
,cigar'cttc
,rcprc'scnt
.. tress is on the last syllable and the secondary stress is on the first
the primatY 5 ch ds arc used in connected speech pitch movement can be
. syllable. When suth woyrUables which have primary stress.
. "tiatcd only on es .
iro lr d. ·••d stress in English is not tied to a particular syllable,
.As. wehavca Y-' You will, therefore, have to refer to a d1ct1onary
therealanguages. ••
as it IS msomc_o . l syllabic in a word is stressed. There arc, however,
to find out which partiCU:ru,11 can help you in localing stress.We will give you
some rules of word stress .
those rules in the next urut.
20
21
 Units
RULES OF WORD STRESS
Activity Try and pronounce the following words. As you pronounce them mark the
stressed syllables, i.e., the syllables you pronounce more prominently than othe~s. 5.0 introduction
. . , I
application ii• . . '· , .:. J (f'\! 5. I Functional shift of stress 24
I ; .
exception •!· ~ · 24
~
A, , . .::u
~@ln
5.2 Words with prefixcs/sufftxcs: their strcis patterns
26
absolute ,,, 1- ~ - - 5.2.1 Words with weak prefixes
civiliuition 26
5.2.2 Verbs of two syllables
I symbol 26
5.2.3 Words 'ending in ::i2n, :k/:k;IJ/ :ici!l!),, , .
adcijuate :irui.:imis,~
l 27
accident 5.2.4 Words ending in ::ate. :fy, :ll)'.
l blackbird ::cruy.. '.!l1l. :graph -graph¥ :!!!filL :log), 28
familiar 5.2.5 Words str~ on the suffix
29
photographer 5_2_6 lnfkctional suffixes that do not
I
language affect the stress 31
\ question 5.3 Accent in compound words 32
handkerchief 5.4 Stress shift 32
I I
" academic 55 Summary 33
Now look up these words in a pronourun.g dictionary and coriect your 5.6 Sources and recommended reading 33
stress marks where.ver necessary. You can trallS91be them in the space pro'<ided.
Pronounce them the way you have transcribed them using the correct ~tress
pattem
4.2 Summary
In this unit we have discussed word stress in some detail. Stress is an
important feature of English pronunciation. In each word of two or m.ore syllables
one syllable is stressed, ie., it is more prominent than the other syllables.
4.3 Sources and recommended reading
Gimsom (1989). Chapter 9.
O' Connor 0970). Chapter 6.
23
22
 Unit 5
RULES OF WORD STRESS
5.
6.
--
--
-
5.0 Introduction
~ : to enable participants to make generalizations about the location
of stress in words. 7.
-
Herc arc a few rules of word stress. These will help you locate stress in
words. ··
8.
5.1. Functional shift of stress
There arc a number of words of two syllabics in which the accentual pattern 9.
depends on whether the word is used as a noun, an adjective or a verb. When
the word is used as a noun or an adj<,ctive, the stress is on the first syllable. When
the word is used as a verb, the stress is on the second syllabic. Herc arc a few 10.
examples:
Mark the stress on the appropriate syllabic
I'-lilunli'il!i!:!:liv.e Y£rh B. Transcribe these words in the space provided.
'absent
ab'scnt
'object M
ob'jcct
l.
'subject
sub'jcct
'permit
pcr'mit
'record 2.
rc'cord
'progress
pro1gre:;::i
'produce 3.
pro'ducc
'pcrlcct
pcr 1fcct
'incrc.asc 4.
in'cr~asc
'decrease
dc 1crcasc
prcscnt
1
prc'scnt 5.
Some additional pairs of words spelt identically, in which the accentual
-
pattern varies according to function can be found in the list given in A.C.Gimson's,
A11 lntrodudion to the ProuuucintUm of E11glisl1. 6. -
-
Activity A 7. -
A. List at least ten more two syllabic words which follow the rule stated
above, i.e., functional shift of stress.
-
1-lmmL&!j 'full 8.
I.
9.
2.
---
10. -
--
3. NoW look up these words in a p1onouncing dictionary and correct your
transcription.
4.
24
25
 sc'lect
·c1tas'tise
5.2 Words with prefixes/suffixes: their stress patterns pro'tect
COm'prise
Herc we discuss words with prefixes/ suffixes in tcmtS of their stress patterns.
5.2.3.
5.2.1. Words with weak prefixes Words tnding in :mn, :k, :i9!, :k!!Jy, :W!y, :ill!, :W!§.
A. Words with weak prefixes are accented on the root.
A. Words ending
but one) in :i2n htve lhe Illas on the penul~te (i.e., the last
~1ble.
a1risc bc'low ,co,m'posc
:imi
a1lonc bc'comc dc'vclop
appli'tation
a'loud bc'fall rc'ducc
civili'zation
ad'mit bc'twccn
compo'sition
a'mount bc'gin
coiwer'sation
a'part bc'hold
culti'vation
a'lloat bc'licvc
ac'ccpt bc'sidc· exami'nation
a'bovc qualifi'cation
a'bout inlro'duction
B. Prefixes with negative connotations get stressed. imagi'nation
'dis1oyal 'question
1
'in.sin'ccrc sug'geslion
'il1ogical con'gestion
'half-'finishcd indi'gestion
C. Vtrbs of two syllables beginning with the prefix dis- are stressed on B. Words ending in -id-ical/-jcally. ~ili:W!y, :ill! have the stress on the
the last syllable.
syllable preceding the suffix.
dis'arrn dis'may
:k
dis'band dis'pcl
apolo'gctic
dis 1ccrn dis 1miss
c1cctric
dis'closc dis'solve
sympa'thctic
dis'rount dis'tend
patri'otic
dis'grace dis'turb
scicn'l\fic
dis'guisc dis'trcss
:irn
5.2.2. Verbs of two syllables -
apolo'gctical
Verbs of two syll1bles ending in$ -ise/-ize. •.d 1re stressed on the
last syliablc. ·
::ik :izc apolo'gctic,lly
nar'ratc cap 1sizc :iii
mi'gratc bap'tize me'morial
dc'batc :ct official
Ideate at 1tract '- prcsi'dcntial
pul'satc con1ncct
in'dustrial
vib'ratc dc'pict
'spt'cial
in'fect
resi'dcntial
in'ject
ccrc'monial
26
Tl
J
 cs'sential B. Words ending in :il)'. h~ve the slross on the ante-penultimate syllable
O.e, third froa, the end). -
supcr'ficial
:ll)'.
a'bility
officially
clec'lricity
;specially
es'scntially
~'bility
ac'tivity
supcr'fic:ally
-m.n •'quality
Vic'torian proba'bility
lib'rarian curi'osity
dec1trician gene'rosity
mu'sician
poli'tician
C. Words ending in :iillY, :fill have the stress on the ante-penultimate
disciplin'arian syllable (i.e., thin!, from the end).
C. Words ending in ::lllJ!l1, ::£2J!.!. have the stress on the penultimate (i.e., :mcy fill
the last but one) syllable.
au'tocracy
=
'autocrat
:lllfil b de'mocracy 'democrat
'anxious
1
piteo~
s~ tech'nocracy 'tl'Chnt¾rat
in1dustri~us cou 1rageous
'gorgeous plu'tocra~ 'plutocrat
in'jurious
'hideous aris't~ 'bureaucrat
la'borious
rc'bcllious
1
righteous bu'rcaucracy
vic1torious simul'taneous D. Words ending i n ~ ~ :l!!filL :IQgy have the stress on the
ante-penultimate syllable (i.e, third from the end).
spon'taneous
:guph :l!!filC -~
advan'tagc~us
'autograph pho'tography thcr'momctcr psy'chology
5.2.4 Words ending in :ill, -ise/:i«, ,iy, :i!)'., ::llf)', ::.rut~h. bi'ology
-meter :lQg)'. .. _ 'paragraph spcc'trography Iac'tometcr
di'amctcr zo'ology
A. Words of more than two syllables ending in ::lli, :ify are 'photograph bi'ography
stre..,d on the ante-penuliimate syllable (i.e., third from the end). pa'ramctcr
'spectrograph
:.All: :..&.:.W: :Jf}'.
5.2.S Words st,essed on the ,uflix
1
cmnplicate cOlonisc
1
'justify
~- Words m(ling with the suffixts :!in, :mt!L ~nti~I
'separatc(v) 'enterprise 'classify •tsQUt -ique, :illi., :.t!t, are
'educate brutalisc 'beautify ,t,essed on the suffix.
1
cultivatc
1
ar 1ticula1c

1
patronisc
'realize
'certify
'gratify
::ii!l
:iirl:
millio1Nire
= cngi'n~r
ob'lain
'r~ognisc 'modify question'nairc volun'tccr
main'tain
mo'nopolize 'nullify car'ccr
per'lain
'jeopardise 'satisfy ! markc1tcer
re'frain
mountai'nccr
ascer'tain
ex'plain
28 re'tain
'J.9
 doctrfnairc
:mW
cxpcri'mcntal
::cnlifil
~•tcntial
..
:l:Sl:
Bur'mcsc
dramatic
funda'mcntal electricity
provi'dcntial C:~i'ncsc
acci'dcntal prcsi'dential
cldmcnlal
Assa'mcsc I
dcpart'mcntal dficicnt
Japa'ncsc '
paTcntal experience
Sia'mcsc
inci'dcntal magician
= ,hicchanic
-
coa'lcscc effor'vcsccnce om/mental
ado'lcsccnt
conva'lcscc ado'lcsccnce effer'vcsccnt ;optician
acqui'cscc
ronva'lcsccnt. piohL'Cr
:ills rcali~.ation
pictuTcsquc phy'siquc ncu'ritis referee
gro'tcsquc u'niqu!!
arth'ritis rehicdial
bur'lcsquc cri'tique bron'chitis society
tech'nique laryn'gitis ~pccific
I
::!:!: Nuw look t'!"m up in a pronouncing dictionary and make corrections
:ell:
pay'ee wherever necessary. You may transcribe these words in the space provided. Try
cti'quette dc1lctc
addres'sce and pronounce them correctly.
ciga'rctte rc'plctc
cmploy'ee ga'zette
con'crctc (v)
abscn'tee 5.2.6 (nflcrtional suffixes that do not affect the stress
silhou'cttc
com'plctc The inOectional suffixc5 and lhe dcrivation,11 sultixes
:ru!s:·
:age, -·;anc(, •en&,.~~s, -ful, :}tJ).Q~ -ice -ish -ive -less, - l y ~
barri'cadc n~~.!. -or, -shipJ~l;:L.. .:\n~, -y, :~e.n do not normally affect the stress.
cas'cadc llere are a few example~:
dc'grade m,1kh 'millchcs
lcmo'nadc hc'hin
bc'ginning
pcr'suade \\';'11\t
'wanted
brc,,k 'breakage
ap1p4.•;uann'
Activity B ap'pl•,1r
Mark the primary accent on the foUowing words and say them correctly. 1brir)1tt.·11
(':'ry and apply the rules we have discussed aboye). bright
.lbi!ity write
\'lrih.'T
authorise 'guJ.Jl'SS
god
arttiquc
1
cardul
care
biology 'childhood
child
can'tccn
1
cowardkc
'coward
ciga}cttc 'foolish
fool
dpaaty at'tract
at'tractivc
'co!oajzc 'aimless
- 1 aim
\collcctjon. 'badly
bad
30 31
, I
 l 1
I
I
ap'point ap'l'ointment
'bitter 'bitterness
'conquer 'conqueror
'fellow 'fellowship
laugh 'laughter
fail 'failure
blood 'bloody .
'city 'citizen
f
. ·You should note that we do J:\Ot mark stress in mono-syllabic words, i.e.,
words of one syllable. ·· · -· · · · ·

5.3 Accent in compound words

As you know compound words are made up of two words which may be
written as one word with or without a hyphen. Most compound words have the
primary stress on the first element. For example:
'blacksmith
'blackbird
'dining-room
'tea-party
There are, however, a few ~ompound words which have the stress on the
second element. They are mostly compounds with -ever and -self. For example:
however
when'ever
... .
hint'self
her'self
Sometimes both elements are stressed, but the primary stress is on the second
element. For example:
,after'noon
,old-'fashioned
,absent-'minded
In 'afteID?Ori 'pmy the primary stress shifts to the first syllable.
In words of three elements the primary stress is on the second element. For
example:
· hot 'water bottle
waste 'paper basket

5.4 Stress.shut
Stress shift is quite normal in derivatives. Here are a few examples:
a'cademy aca'demic acade'mician
'photograph pho'tographer photo'graphic
'politics po'litical · poli'tician